To treat or not to treat: comparison of different criteria used to determine whether weight loss is to be recommended

Background  

Excess body fat is a major risk factor for disease primarily due to its endocrine activity. In recent years several criteria have been introduced to evaluate this factor. Nevertheless, treatment need is currently assessed only on the basis of an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI), calculated as body weight (in kg) divided by height in m². The aim of our study was to determine whether application of the BMI, compared to adiposity-based criteria, results in underestimation of the number of subjects needing lifestyle intervention.     

Data collection: evaluation of a pilot model

The overall purpose of this study was to explore nurses' feelings about the applicability and adequacy of a pilot model of nursing assessment (PMNA) developed for coronary care units (CCU) in order to obtain data that could help in establishing a definitive model. The evaluation, performed by 11 CCU nurses, showed that they considered the development and implementation of PMNA as valuable, and that its design was adequate for interviewing cardiac patients. These results will be employed in the elaboration of a definitive model of nursing assessment.     

Paste Residence Time in a Spouted Bed Dryer. III: Effect of Paste Properties and Quality Interactions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of paste properties on residence time during drying in a spouted bed dryer with inert bodies. The effect of paste solids content, surface tension, and viscosity on the residence time distribution and the mean residence times were studied using factorial experimental designs. The inert bodies used were glass and polyethylene beads. The mean residence times varied from 13.6 to 16.3 and 12.2 to 17.7 min for drying on glass and polyethylene beads, respectively. The analysis of variance showed that mean residence times significantly depended on solids content and surface tension for glass beads and also on viscosity for polyethylene beads. The residence time distributions for all conditions studied fitted well to the perfect mixing cell when applying the continuous stirred vessels in series model analysis. The powder density, flowability, and particle size depended on paste properties and inert type.     

Cytoskeletal elements in mammalian spermiogenesis and spermatozoa.

Identification of the cytoskeletal elements and their role in the formation as well as the maintenance of head membrane compartmentalization is a much debated issue in mammalian spermatozoa. Data which have emerged during the last ten years are summarized. Those which have converged in a common opinion, such as the distribution of actin in mammalian spermiogenesis, are distinguished from those which have to be confirmed, such as the role of actin related proteins and actin in mature spermatozoa.     

Nisin expression production from Lactococcus lactis in milk whey medium

BACKGROUND: Nisin is a commercially available bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 and used as a natural agent in the biopreservation of food. In the current investigation, milk whey, a byproduct from dairy industries was used as a fermentation substrate for the production of nisin. Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 was developed in a rotary shaker (30 °C/36 h/100 rpm) using two different media with milk whey (i) without filtration, pH 6.8, adjusted with NaOH 2 mol L^?1 and without pH adjustment, both autoclaved at 121 °C for 30 min, and (ii) filtrated (1.20 µm and 0.22 µm membrane filter). These cultures were transferred five times using 5 mL aliquots of broth culture for every new volume of the respective media. RESULTS: The results showed that culture media composed of milk whey without filtration supplied L. lactis its adaptation needs better than filtrated milk whey. Nisin titers, in milk whey without filtration (pH adjusted), was 11120.13 mg L^?1 in the second transfer, and up to 1628‐fold higher than the filtrated milk whey, 6.83 mg.L^?1 obtained in the first^t transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Biological processing of milk byproducts (milk whey) can be considered a profitable alternative, generating high‐value bioproducts and contributing to decreasing river disposals by dairy industries. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assay of acyclovir in human skin layers by high-performance liquid chromatography

This paper describes an assay procedure for acyclovir quantification in human skin after in vitro transdermal transport experiments. The procedure employs warm distilled water for acyclovir (ACV) extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as analytical method. The procedure has good reproducibility, sensitivity and specificity, resulting in a reliable method for biopharmaceutical studies of ACV distribution in skin tissue. The chromatographic conditions set up, using distilled water as mobile phase, makes the analytical procedure simple and easy to perform.     

Multidrug resistance-reversing agents increase vinblastine distribution in normal tissues expressing the P-glycoprotein but do not enhance drug penetration in brain and testis

The aim of this study was to assess whether P-glycoprotein (Pgp) inhibitors altered the blood-brain barrier and enhanced vinblastine (VBL) distribution in brain, testis and other Pgp-expressing tissues. Trifluoperazine, cyclosporin A, amiodarone, quinidine, the nifedipine analog Bay K8644 and verapamil were selected among Pgp inhibitors and were administered intraperitoneally 1 hr before an intravenous dose of 10 mg/kg VBL. Trifluoperazine and cyclosporin A were also administered intraperitoneally for 7 days before VBL. VBL and its metabolite O4-deacetylvinblastine were measured in tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography assay. None of the reversing agents (RA) appreciably raised VBL concentrations in brain and testis, whereas all except quinidine significantly enhanced VBL distribution in liver and kidney; the most effective were trifluoroperazine and cyclosporin A. In mice treated with RA and VBL combined, O4-deacetylvinblastine levels in liver and kidney reached either the same or higher levels than in mice treated with VBL alone, indicating that the increase in VBL levels is not due to inhibition of its metabolism. The main conclusions are that (1) inhibitors of Pgp, even at high doses, do not increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier in mice, suggesting caution in the clinical use of RA combined with antitumor agents for brain tumors; and (2) several RA achieve high enough concentrations to enhance the distribution of VBL in other normal tissues expressing Pgp, thus potentially increasing VBL toxicity.     

SYNTHESIS OF CHEMICAL REACTION PATHS: ECONOMIC AND SPECIFICATION CONSTRAINTS

The synthesis of alternative reaction paths leading to a desired chemical has received increasing attention in the recent past. A procedure to develop new reaction schemes in a systematic manner was reviewed by the authors ( [ 1 -3] ). The algorithm presented in these earlier papers implied the generation of an infinite number of reaction paths. The thermodynamic feasibility is a preliminary screening which reduces the number of chemical production schemes. Further screening is necessary, taking into account considerations which are related to economics, processing, safety and so on. Some constraints related with role specification, gross added value and demand/supply requirements are analysed in this paper. Examples illustrate the application of the screening procedure, showing that the addition of a few constraints results in a dramatic decrease of alternative reaction paths.